In Review: The Week of December 9th

On the Blog

~ Anishinabe artist-educator Robert Spade gives us something to admire: check out his stunning artwork in the illustrated children’s book Keeshig and the Ojibwe Pterodactyls (Kegedonce Press)~ Lucas Crawford brings us recorded readings from his poetry in Belated Bris of the Brainsick (Nightwood Editions) a collection that explores the search for a “queered” version of health after the revelation of a heavy secret of family Jewishness~ If Hallmark Christmas flicks are your thing, we’ve got three charming literary follow-ups for when you’re Christmased out~ Our #WeekendReads theme is winter hibernation: check out books about struggling with isolation in one way or another and finding beauty and meaning no matter where you are in life

Around the Web

~ Progress! Merriam-Webster declares the personal pronoun “they” is its 2019 Word of the Year.~ In news that confirms our worldview: without women the novel would die.~ And, according to the Toronto Public Library, readers want books by women—and they want them to be Canadian. 

via GIPHY

What Else We’re Reading

Staffer Tan Light recommends Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel Agnes, Murderess (Freehand Books, 2019).”Agnes, Murderess is the true-ish tale of a BC innkeeper who left a trail of bodies in her wake. Once opened, I could not put this book down, and furtively read the entire graphic novel in one sitting. Sarah Leavitt creates a full life and backstory for this woman who would otherwise be but a footnote in Canadian lore.”